Kings County Farm Bureau sues over SGMA probation
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Taking legal action against the California State Water Resources Control Board last week, the Kings County Farm Bureau and two of its farmer members sued the state agency over its decision to place the Tulare Lake Subbasin on probationary sta- tus under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA. In the lawsuit, filed May 15 in Kings County Superior Court, the Kings County Farm Bureau, joined by landowners Julie Martella and Helen Sullivan, cited eight causes of action against the state water board in seeking a writ of mandate to block the subbasin’s probationary desig- nation. The county Farm Bureau said the board decision “is an act of state overreach that exceeds the board’s authority under SGMA and will devastate the Tulare Lake Subbasin and the Kings County economy.” On April 16, the Tulare Lake Subbasin, which covers Kings County, became the first subbasin in the state to be placed un- der probation. The water board agreed with staff last month that a plan submitted by agencies in the region failed to demonstrate how they would address critical overdraft by limiting groundwater pumping, land subsidence and impacts to drinking water. Under probation, groundwater ex- tractors in the Tulare Lake Subbasin face annual fees of $300 per well and $20 per acre-foot pumped, plus a late reporting fee
of 25%. SGMA also requires well owners to file annual groundwater extraction reports. Kings County Farm Bureau Executive Director Dusty Ference said in a state- ment, “When ag suffers in Kings County, the entire community suffers. Placing the Tulare Lake Subbasin on probation in 2024 is inconceivable and unjust.” Ference add- ed, “SGMA dictates that subbasins have until 2040 to achieve sustainability, and the SWRCB has arbitrarily accelerated that deadline to 2024.” Kings County agriculture, valued at $2.6 billion, Ference said, is the county’s largest economic sector and contributes $33 mil- lion in property taxes. That equals local sal- aries for 256 teachers, 149 first responders and county employees, he noted. The Tulare Lake Subbasin includes the following five groundwater sustainabili- ty agencies: South Fork Kings, Mid-Kings River, El Rico, Tri-County Water Authority and Southwest Kings. The agencies devel- oped a single groundwater sustainability plan for the Tulare Lake Subbasin. Other critically overdrafted subbasins with state-declared inadequate plans include the Tule, Kaweah, Kern County, Delta-Mendota and Chowchilla subba- sins. The water board is due to decide later this year and early next year on whether or not to place any of those subbasins under probationary status.
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12 Ag Alert May 22, 2024
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